Pakistani excited to visit India with Gandhi portrait

Lahore, Sep 28 (PTI) Abdul Waseel has been unable to
sleep over the past few days, excited at the prospect of
finally travelling to India from Pakistan to hand over a
portrait of Mahatma Gandhi painted with his blood to a museum
dedicated to the apostle of peace.
"I want to tell Indians that ordinary Pakistanis like me
are peace-loving people. I painted the portrait of the great
Indian leader with my blood to send a message of peace and
love to the world," said Waseel, popularly known as 'Painter
Babu'.
The 40-year-old painter, a resident of Garhi Shahu in the
old quarters of Lahore, said he always had an intense desire
to do something that would set him apart from others in his
profession. And this led to the unique portrait of Gandhi.
"Because I'm hard working, I'm considered the best
painter in my locality but my desire to do something different
or extraordinary could not be fulfilled. Two years ago, while
discussing this with my friends, the idea of doing a painting
of the world’s great leaders with my blood struck me," Waseel
said in an interview with PTI.
Waseel said he first painted the portrait of Gandhi,
followed by paintings of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, the renowned poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal, slain former
premier Benazir Bhutto and South African leader Nelson
Mandela.
The artist said he was inspired to paint the portrait of
Gandhi after reading about his commitment to non-violence.
"In the old days, everything was about blood. People
would give every last drop of their blood for their friends.
Through this painting, I paid tribute to Gandhi with my
blood," Waseel said.
"Seeing my work, people of the area asked me if I had
gone crazy to be painting with my blood. My immediate response
was: I am happy to do something different. When a visiting
Indian journalist appreciated my work some time ago, I felt on
top of the world."
After getting a 15-day visa for New Delhi and Ajmer,
Waseel decided to travel to the Indian capital by train on
September 28. At his request, the Indian High Commission gave
him a transit visa for Amritsar so that he could witness the
ceremony for lowering the flags of India and Pakistan at the
Wagah land border from the Indian side.
Arrangements have been made for Waseel to hand over his
painting to the Gandhi Smriti, the museum in New Delhi located
in the house where the Mahatma spent the last days and was
assassinated in 1948.
Waseel expressed a certain amount of regret for the way
he is treated in his homeland. "I wanted to present the
portrait of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to President Asif Ali
Zardari but I was invited to the Governor's House in Lahore
where a Pakistan People's Party leader told me that my
creation would be sent to the President," he said.
"I would have liked to present Gandhiji's portrait to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and tell him that most
Pakistanis are like me and want good relations with India. Why
are we making bombs? We should provide education and a better
future to our children and this can be possible through
peaceful relations between India and Pakistan," said the
father of three daughters.
Waseel said he was undeterred in his plans to travel to
India despite opposition from some quarters. He said he was
quizzed by Pakistani intelligence operatives outside the
Indian High Commission in Islamabad when he went for a visa
interview.
"When I told them about the purpose of my visit, they
taunted me with sarcastic remarks. They said, 'Look at this
new champion of peace. Shall we give you a Nobel peace prize?'
But I didn't change my mind," he said.